Assyria

An Assyrian wall sculpture of a royal personage and attendant. Assyria was originally a narrow strip of land on either side of the River Tigris, but the empire grew to be a major power at its height, encompassing Elam, Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine, the Arabian marches, and Egypt. It fell into decline in the 7th century BC.

Bas-relief in white plaster from the time of the Third or New Assyrian Empire (9th century BC), showing a winged god or angel. The figure is very different from that of the fierce moon and war deity Ashur from which the Assyrians took their name.

Assyrian religious figure. In ancient Assyria (northern Mesopotamia, now Iraq), the king was the focus of all aspects of society: chief judge, military commander, and religious leader. Many of the Assyrian deities were adopted from existing Babylonian religious beliefs, except for the supreme national god, Ashur.

Empire in the Middle East c. 2500–612 BC, in northern Mesopotamia (now Iraq); early capital Ashur, later Nineveh. It was initially subject to Sumer and intermittently to Babylon. The Assyrians adopted largely the Sumerian religion and structure of society. At its greatest extent the empire included Egypt and stretched from the eastern Mediterranean coast to the head of the Gulf.

The land of Assyria originally consisted of a narrow strip of alluvial soil on each side of the River Tigris. The area was settled about 3500 BC and was dominated by Sumer until about 2350 BC.

The first Assyrian kings are mentioned during the wars following the decline of the 3rd dynasty of Ur (in Sumer), but Assyria continued under Babylonian and subsequently Egyptian supremacy until about 1450 BC. Under King Ashur-uballit (reigned about 1380–1340 BC) Assyria became a military power. His work was continued by Adad-nirari I, Shalmaneser I, and Tukulti-enurta I, who conquered Babylonia and assumed the title of king of Sumer and Akkad.

During the reign of Nebuchadnezzar I (1150–1110 BC), Assyria was again subject to Babylonia, but was liberated by Tiglath-pileser I. In the Aramaean invasions, most of the ground gained was lost. From the accession of Adad-nirari II in 911 BC Assyria pursued a course of expansion and conquest, culminating in the mastery over Elam, Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine, the Arabian marches, and Egypt. Of this period the Old Testament records, and many ‘documents’ – such as the Black Obelisk celebrating the conquest of Shalmaneser III in the 9th century BC – survive.

The reign of Ashur-nazir-pal II (885–860 BC) was spent in unceasing warfare, evidenced by many bas-reliefs. Shalmaneser III warred against the Syrian states. At the battle of Qarqar 854 BC the Assyrian advance received a setback, and there followed a period of decline. The final period of Assyrian ascendancy began with the accession of Tiglath-pileser III (746–728 BC) and continued during the reigns of Sargon II, Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, and Ashurbanipal, culminating in the conquest of Egypt by Esarhaddon in 671 BC. From this time the empire seems to have fallen into decay. Nabopolassar of Babylonia and Cyaxares of Media (see Mede) united against it; Nineveh was destroyed in 612 BC; and Assyria became a Median province and subsequently a principality of the Persian Empire.

Much of Assyrian religion, law, social structure, and artistic achievement was derived from neighbouring sources. The Assyrians adopted the cuneiform script (invented by the Sumerians in 3500 BC) and took over the Sumerian pantheon, although the Assyrian god, Ashur, assumed the chief place in the cult. The library of Ashurbanipal excavated at Nineveh is evidence of the thoroughness with which Babylonian culture had been assimilated.